MISSION Street
by StEpPiNg StOnEs
Summary: SakuSasu oneshot Sakura was wrong again. Turns out Sasuke could feel much more than just hate and anger.


**a/n** **hey! this is my first ever one-shot! I hope you enjoy it! I know there are a lot of Sasuke lovers out there, hey, I'm one of them! but, I really think this is a great couple and this song really made me think of writing one. . well, by this song, I mean the one the story is named after. It's called Mission Street, and it's by Vienna Teng. I strongly suggest that you all go read it--NOW. it's a great song. and you'll see how it just fits... seriously. oh and, if you don't read this, it's your own fault. the memo I mean. anyway, what I was going to say is this: I have only seen up to episode 101 of Naruto, and my sister won't let me watch anymore until she catches up, which she is making no effort in doing. and she's finished up to episode 20. yeah. there's a big difference between those two numbers. anyway, I know Sasuke left, and I've sen some of what he's said, but I don't know what happens to him after that. maybe I should have waited to get this out, but I didn't so...get over it ;P so yeah, I'm kinda probably changing things but...whatever... **

**anyway! hope you enjoy!**

* * *

M.I.S.S.I.O.N. Street

_"You're still annoying"_

How could words spoken so long ago still hurt so much? Sakura wondered as she subconsciously clutched at her heart.

"Sakura? Are you alright?"

Sakura's head shot up and she had to blink a few times before her eyes focused. Tsunade was looking curiously at her apprentice.

"What? Oh. Yeah, I'm fine," Sakura said quietly, feeling the blood rising in her cheeks. It was at least the tenth time that week that she had gotten distracted during her lessons with Tsunade-sama.

For some reason, she just couldn't get Sasuke out of her head. Well, she never really could, but now memories were flooding in, causing her to hurt. Whether they were sad memories, or happy ones, they just made her _hurt_. All over.

"Are you sure? You seem...well, _distracted_. Beyond distracted, actually, but I don't know a word for that..."

"I'm sure," Sakura said softly, giving a short nod.

Tsunade eyed the pink-haired girl carefully before finally shaking her head. "Okay, Sakura. Out."

"Nani?!" Sakura exclaimed, head jerking upward as her green eyes widened.

"You heard me. Get out. You're obviously too caught up in your thoughts to work today. We'll just pick up here another day, okay?"

"But Tsunade-sama--" Sakura argued, only to get cut off.

"_No_!" The older woman said sternly, golden eyes flashing. "I need to be going anyway, so it's much more convenient for me this way. Shizune!"

A young woman, fairly tall and with short black hair came running over, holding a pig close to her chest. "Yes, Tsunade-sama?"

"Come on, we have to get going," the blonde woman said, getting to her feet; Sakura slowly followed suit, her eyes never leaving her master.

"Arigato," she managed to murmur as she took her time getting out of there, as if waiting for Tsunade to change her mind and call her back. But she didn't.

Sakura heaved a sigh. Now what was going to stop her from thinking about Sasuke? Not that that training really _did_ stop her thoughts, but now that she was free **all** she would be able to think about was him.

"Sakura-chan!"

Sakura hadn't even realized she was outside until she heard the familiar voice calling out to her. Eyes widening, she looked around, searching for the speaker. She couldn't see him, there were far too many people crowding Kenoshas streets. So, instead of stopping in the middle of all the traffic, she walked on a bit until she was in a somewhat barren area.

Naruto quickly caught up with her, jumping at her side and draping his arm over her shoulders.

"Konichiwa Sakura-chan!" he said cheerily.

"Konichiwa Naruto," she said, trying her hardest to manage even the slightest smile.

Naruto noticed that she was having trouble and raised an eyebrow. "Nani? What's wrong Sakura-chan?"

"Nothing. Just thinking about what Tsunade-sama taught me today. So what's up?" Sakura said; it had been a double lie. She _Wasn't_ fine and she _wasn't_ thinking about what Tsunade-sama had taught her. Mainly because she **hadn't** taught her anything.

_But would I really be thinking about it even if she had? _Sakura wondered.

"Hey! Sakura! Sakura?"

"Hmm?" Sakura asked, looking towards Naruto with an expression that clearly said she was tired.

"Do you want to go get ramen? I know some great places!" Naruto bribed, jiggling his eyebrows up and down.

Sakura giggled a little, but covered the small smile with her hand. "No, I can't. Not today, anyway. Some other time?"

"Sure!" Naruto exclaimed, but he couldn't hide his disappointment.

"Okay, so I'll see you later. I need to get home."

Naruto nodded. "Sayonara, Sakura-chan!"

"Sayonara," Sakura replied; her voice was barely above a whisper as she watched the blonde boy walk away. She stood there for a while afterwards. Many people passed right by her, not even noticing the depressed girl standing alone in the dark. Time seemed to stand still around her. Either that or it just moved so quickly that people and things went unnoticed. Whatever it was, when Sakura finally moved night had completely fallen and the streets were empty.

Suddenly Sakura felt very lonely. More lonely than she had ever felt before, and hoped never to be again.

Hugging herself, Sakura slowly walked off, heading in no particular direction. She knew she'd get home eventually, no matter which direction she decided to go.

As she slowly walked through the deserted streets of Konoha, deep in thoughts of nothing, something appeared before her. Or rather, some_one_.

"Sakura..."the person said.

The pink-haired girl's head shot up as she was awoken from her daze. But all she saw of the person who had said her name was the striking black eyes. She recognized them; she recognized the way they pierced through her skin, the way they made her temperature rise.

"Sasuke...?" she whispered into the night. But no one replied. Heaving a sigh, she continued on her way, thinking it was nothing more than an illusion, a hopeful desire.

_I miss him. _Sakura didn't need to tell herself that to know it was true, but she did anyway. It was her excuse for being so distant, so quiet, and so...miserable.

"He keeps disappearing," she whispered, rubbing her arms with her hands. But it was no use: her hands were colder than her arms by far. "I'm tired of it," she added, feeling the familiar wetness coming into her eyes. The tears the escaped were hot and plentiful. They rolled down her cheeks quickly, making soft 'plipping' noises as they hit the ground below her. And no matter how many times the lump in her throat dissolved into her eyes, another always came back.

Finally, she released herself from her own grasp and wiped the remaining tears from her eyes, using the backs of her hands. After she was out of tears, and her shoulders stopped heaving, her arms fell limp at her side

All in Konoha seemed to be silent. Even Sakura's heavy breathing seemed to make no noise. And since it was so serenely quiet, Sakura was surprised she didn't hear the person walk up behind her and gently grab her arm.

"Sakura..."

It was that same voice as before. When Sakura slowly turned her head, it was the same black eyes, too.

_I guess I was wrong. It wasn't just an illusion..._ Sakura's thoughts were so quiet she could barely even hear them herself.

Sakura's voice caught in her throat she stared at Sasuke, her entire body trembling. Her green eyes were wide as they darted about, moving over the boy's body as to make sure he was all there.

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura finally managed to croak; she made no attempt to free herself from Sasuke's grasp.

Sasuke said nothing, just continued to look at her with that piercing gaze of his.

And all at once, a thousand words found their way onto Sakura's tongue. None of them were what she had expected to say when Sasuke finally came back after disappearing yet _again_. But she said them anyway.

"What are you doing?! Why do you keep leaving and coming back?! First you go off to see Orochimaru, then you come back, and you leave several times more!! What's up with that?! Don't you know how much it hurts me to see you leave? You don't even bother to say good-bye! Why do you always leave and return when it's night?!" Sakura swallowed hard, moistening her dry throat.

Sasuke still seemed unaffected, which angered Sakura even more. Didn't he know how to _feel_?!

"You've been gone for months now, and then you just show up out of the blue! Tell me, Sasuke! How long will your stay be _this_ time?! A couple days, maybe? And in that amount of time, will you even bother to show your face?! I'm so tired..._so tired_ of going through the same thing every time you leave...**WHY CAN'T YOU JUST MAKE UP YOUR MIND WHETHER YOU'RE STAYING OR LEAVING?!**"

Sakura's shouts echoed throughout the empty streets, but no one seemed to hear her. It was as if only she and Sasuke existed in all of Konoha.

Sakura bit her lower lip to stop herself from saying anymore. She was still trembling all over, and her eyes were wide with pain and anger.

Sasuke, on the other hand, was a closed book. His face showed little or no emotion, and his eyes, so dark and attractive, were suddenly looking very cold, like endless voids, to Sakura.

"Sasuke-kun..." she whispered, no longer showing her anger to elaborately. "Why?"

Sasuke said nothing, but he finally did move. His hand slid down from where he held it at her elbow and stopped only when his fingers were intertwined with his own.

Something like an electric shock moved up Sakura's arm at this; she opened her mouth to say something, but it was quickly closed again when, after merely blinking, Sasuke was gone.

"How...?"Sakura breathed, feeling that familiar lump forming in her throat; she quickly swallowed it down, shaking her head slightly. Sasuke had disappeared so suddenly, so silently--just the way he had **come** as well--that it was like it had been a mirage, just a figment of Sakura's imagination. But she had proof that it wasn't.

Her one hand, once so very cold, was warm from the touch of Sasuke's skin against her own.

And for the first time in a long time, Sakura smiled--for real.

* * *

Sasuke was still in her thoughts continuously, but these thoughts were no longer upsetting. They made Sakura happy every time they happened to stop by, even if just for a moment. It was a huge improvement in attitude, and anyone who ever hung out with her was sure to comment on how cheerful she was.

"Hey fore-head girl! Woo-hoo!" Ino said a bit irritably as she waved her hand in front of Sakura's face.

Sakura's head jerked a little as the dazed look slowly disappeared from her face. Blinking her eyes, she turned to her blonde friend. "Hm?"

"You totally zoned out! What's up?" Ino asked as she plucked a petal from out of her hair. She had just gotten out of work at the flower shop; things had gotten messy in the backroom.

"Oh! Nothing. Just thinking..."

"Let me guess what about," Ino said mockingly. "Could it possibly be _Sasuke_?!" Sure Ino adored Sasuke, but even _she_ had started to find it annoying how the only thing Sakura had been thinking about for months on end was the boy.

Sakura shrugged and got to her feet. "I think I'm going to go home now. I'll see you around Ino."

Ino raised an eyebrow. "_Ino_? No Ino-pig? Jeez...I wonder what's up with you..."Ino muttered just loudly enough for the pinkhaired girl to hear. Sakura stopped walking and turned around to face Ino, smiling only slightly.

Shrugging, Sakura replied, "Maybe I'm too crazy in love for comments." It seemed an innocent enough comment, but it infuriated Ino.

"What was that billboard-brow?!" she snapped, jumping to her feet.

Sakura giggled and walked off, ignoring Ino completely as the girl's jaw nearly flew off from over use.

_Ha! True love! Beat that Ino-pig! _Sakura found herself thinking as a grin passed over her face. She was half way back to normal, and all because Sasuke had held her hand.

Sakura stopped walking for a minute and looked up at the sky above. It was dim out--that time of day again. The streets were crowded as they were every evening. All of the people were in such a rush to get home from shopping or from work. Sakura, on the other hand, was in no such hurry. She took her time just enjoying the sites she had seen countless times before. And, of course, she was hoping. Hoping to see Sasuke again.

It was just as Sakura had said it would be--he showed up, but didn't deign to show his face to the people of the town, or even the people he knew and liked. But oddly, Sakura didn't find herself as upset about this as she had thought she would. Her mind was to absorbed in that one little scene from...how long ago was it?

_About a week, I think..._

Yes, that sounded about right.

As Sakura pushed open the front door to her home, she smiled softly to herself. It was as if she was _pleased_ with herself because somehow, she had gotten Sasuke to hold her hand.

_Bet he's never done that to any other girl. _she thought smugly, throwing her jacket over the back of a chair.

"Sakura! Dinner's almost ready! You made it home just in case!" Mrs. Haruno said, bustling over to the table with a pot.

Sakura nodded before taking her usual seat.

* * *

Dreams were a sweet thing. What was not so sweet, however, was being woken from them right as they were getting good. But that was what happened to Sakura. She was happily dreaming of Sasuke, of course, when someone shook her awake.

Sakura blinked a few times before sitting up, her vision fuzzy. But just as she was getting to her feet, someone pushed her back onto the ground.

"Don't move," the person growled. "Or they'll see you."

The person who spoke wasn't facing Sakura, but despite that and her blurred vision, she could tell who it was. He crouched beside her and, she could just barely manage to see it, in one hand was a kunai knife.

"What's happening?!" she whispered, her heart skipping a beat. Why was Sasuke in her room?

But looking around, Sakura realized that it _Wasnt_ her room. She was in the middle of a forest, laying in the grass.

"Shut up," he hissed, casting a look over his shoulder at her. Sakura blushed and stared at her knees.

"Eep!" The noise escaped her mouth as she closed her legs, locking her muscles tightly so that she could barely move them.

Sasuke rolled his eyes as he watched her out of the corner of his eye. She hadn't changed at all.

Glancing about with a watchful eye, Sasuke turned around to face his old teammate. With his free hand, he grabbed hers and then jumped off, dragging her after him. From branch to branch they jumped; Sakura couldn't even get her feet to land properly on them, and Sasuke was hurting her arm.

"What's going on?" she asked again, screaming over the roaring in her ears that was the wind they made by moving so quickly.

"A huge drop to the ground; obviously, Sasuke thought Sakura was more skillful than she was, because he didn't even bother to jump to lower branches first, just made a huge drop down and assumed that Sakura would be able to land on the ground. Well, she couldn't for three reasons. The first being Sasuke was holding on too tight for her to rip away, the second being she was trying to hold down her nightdress, and the third being she was too tired to concentrate.

So Sasuke landed gracefully on the forest floor, only to be crushed by Sakura landing on top of him and sending him to his bottom.

"Ugh...Sakura, you're heavy," he grunted.

Sakura ignored the comment just like she had the first time he had made it, so long ago.

_Wow...was that really back on our mission to the Country of Wave? _Sakura wondered as she slowly got off of him. She could vividly remember those many days and of course the heart wrenching feeling of finding Sasuke 'dead'.

"Sakura?" he asked.

"Hm?" Sakura blinked again before giving him her full attention, her green eyes wide as she tried to rid them of the tired feeling.

"You still want to know what's going on?"

Sakura nodded vigorously. "Of course!" she exclaimed, only to have a hand roughly clamped over her mouth.

"Shut _up_ will you? Otherwise they'll hear you and this will all have been for nothing..." Sasuke warily looked around to make sure that indeed the two of them were all alone. Once he confirmed this fact, he moved closer to the pink-haired girl so that he could speak in a low whisper without having to repeat anything.

"I only came back when I did because..." He paused, dark eyes downcast. "Because I heard of a strange plan."

"What was it?" Sakura breathed, pushing a stray strand of hair from her face.

Sasuke squirmed in a way that was quite out of character for him. "A man sent three ninjas to ambush Konoha," he continued uncertainly, still not looking Sakura closer. His voice had become quite low and very stiff; Sakura leaned in closer so that she could hear.

"Three ninjas to attack all of Konoha? That isn't very many!" she whispered, a deep frown appearing between her eyebrows.

"No _all_ of Konoha. Just a certain...person. And her family, if need be," Sasuke hastily added.

Sakura's eyes widened. "Who?" Not that really mattered to her, or any of what he was saying, although it peaked her interest. She was just happy that Sasuke was back.

A long silence followed the simple word as Sasuke looked around, twirling the kunai around his finger. Sakura became impatient. She didn't think Sasuke was quite in character.

"_Well? _Who were they to attack?"

Sasuke didn't answer right away. When he finally did, he stared straight into Sakura's eyes; his black eyes pierced through her own bright green ones.

"You," he said simply.

Sakura's heart almost stopped beating, and she almost forgot how to breath. Her? They were after _her_? What had **she** ever done?! Why were people from some other village after her?!

"Wh-what?!" she finally gasped. It hadn't been very loud, but apparently it had been loud enough for Sasuke to find it necessary to jump to his feet, grab her arm, and relocate.

Once they were finally on flat ground again, Sasuke went on to say what he hadn't managed to get out yet.

"I assume you want to know why, right?"

Sakura, numb, nodded slowly, a look of shock frozen on her face.

"Because of Tsunade. Since you're her apprentice, which many people even outside the village even know, a certain man thought you'd be a good tool to get to Tsunade..."

"What did they want to do?"

"Take over Konoha, what else? Or at least, the man did. I don't know about the tree ninjas..." Something sounding quite like annoyance was in his voice.

"Who is this man? Why don't you name him?" Sakura asked almost inaudibly. She could barely even manage to speak at that level.

But before Sasuke could answer, two men burst through the bushes; a mask covered the face of one, while the other left his face perfectly visible. It was something Sakura hoped never to see again. Scars were everywhere, and the face looked gnarled like the roots of a very old tree. But both men were dressed almost identically.

"What are you doing here?" the masked man growled; it seemed he was talking to Sasuke, although that was impossible...right?

"Do you know how hard it was to find you?" the other hissed; Sakura winced to see his face move. It looked even uglier that way.

Sasuke glared at the two, standing with the kunai still in hand; Sakura stared up at him, only then realizing how tall he was now that he was fifteen. He still looked the same as he had many years ago, though.

Sakura looked from him and then at the two ninjas. Both wore the dark blue vest of a Sound-nin.

It was as if they felt her gaze upon them, because they stopped yapping away and turned towards Sakura.

"What are you doing just standing with the girl?" one growled. "Shouldnt she be tied or something?"

Something dawned inside Sakura's brain. She was stupid not to have realized it before.

Jumping to her feet in an angry way, she glared at the back of Sasuke's head.

"You're the third ninja, aren't you?! I was wondering why there were only two since you had said 'three' at least twice! Well?! Answer me!"

Sasuke turned towards his old teammate, expressionless as always.

"You came to help them! You really _have_ joined forces with Orochimaru. I **am** correct in assuming that that's who the 'man' is, right?!"

"Sakura--"Sasuke began slowly, slowly lifting a hand; Sakura swatted it away.

"Don't touch me! Just...stay away from me!" She snapped, and began to run away, smoothing down the front of her pink nightdress before leaving.

Sasuke quickly followed, and Sakura assumed that the other two were not far behind.

_How could I have been so **stupid**?! Of course Sasuke wasn't coming to help me, just to harm me. He never cared for me..._

Sakura, not paying attention, tripped over the root of a tree, sending her crashing face-first into the forest floor; she felt her knee scrape against the rough bark of the root. Slowly, she dragged herself to her feet and stood there, panting, weak, and unable to stifle the sobs that were erupting inside her.

"Sakura! Watch out!" Someone shouted; Sakura whirled around and saw a shuriken coming straight towards her. She had no time to react, and obviously Sasuke knew this because he jumped in front of her, deflecting the weapon.

"What are you doing?!"

"Isn't it obvious, Kiyoshi? Turns out _Sasuke-kun_ is a traitor," the other sneered.

The first one shrugged. "Well, I guess we'll just have to dispose of him then, although I'm sure Orochimaru-sama wouldn't be too pleased about that..."

The masked man shrugged. "Maybe we should just tie him up and bring him to Orochimaru-sama, to see what he wants us to do?"

The man with the twisted face grinned. "That works for me. Hopefully the man will allow us to have some fun!"

The two men advanced towards Sasuke who was still shielding Sakura, holding a mere kunai knife before him. Sakura felt helpless as she cowered behind Sasuke, sitting on the ground and staring up at the guy she was so angry at.

"Ha. Just because it seems you've become Orochimaru-sama's favorite," the masked man started

"Doesn't mean you're strong enough to fight against _us_ with a mere kunai."

The corners of Sasuke's lips twitched into something of a smirk--he knew something that they didn't. But what was it?

"Oh, this one's very self confident!" One sneered. "Step away from the girl, will you. We don't want to harm her until it's necessary!"

"Sakura--_go_!" Sasuke hissed.

Sakura didn't need to be told twice. She stood and ran; she was glad to get away from all of them--Sasuke included. She loved him dearly but...

_How could he do that to me? _Sakura silently cried as she ran.

"Hey! The girl's getting away--catch her!"

"But..."

"I'll take care of _Sasuke-kun_! You just get the girl!" One hollered, his voice slightly muffled--the masked one.

But when Sakura looked over her shoulder, she didn't see the ugly-faced man, but the masked one. Then what had been muffling the other's voice.

_Did Sasuke already get a hold of him?_ Sakura wondered; she couldn't help but feel smug, even though Sasuke had been helping Orochimaru get to her.

Sensing the ninjas behind her, she jumped up into the trees which he didn't realize happening and he ran a bit before he jumped up--right in front of her.

Sakura instinctively jumped up onto a higher branch, no longer caring that she was wearing a nightdress.

Each time she did this, however--it didn't matter HOW many times--he always ended up in front of her. Now Sakura was too tired to jump any higher, so instead she began forming hand seals; she didn't have any weapons on her.

Sasuke came piling into Sakura, knocking her out of the way before she could make the final seal which, surprisingly, the Sound Nin hadn't tried stopping her from doing.

The medical-nin stumbled and almost fell off the branch, where she would met a bloody death falling the many, _many_ feet below.

And just as she began to fall, someone wrapped their arms around her waist, pulling her back up. Sakura knew it was Sasuke by the way she flushed at his touch.

Not so gently, the boy set her down and turned back to the masked ninjas.

"Do you still think I can't hurt you with just a kunai?" Sasuke asked smugly. "Your friend Kiyoshi's dead. Or will be soon enough..."

At first the masked-man's light eyes widened, but then he smirked from behind the mask, his face calming again. "Kiyoshi was weak," he said indifferently.

Sasuke chuckled to himself before shrugging. And pulling out a shuriken, he jumped to a branch further away.

_Sasuke...**killed** someone?_ Sakura's mind said in a small voice as she pressed her back against the trunk of the tall tree.

The masked-man first looked at Sakura, scared, and then at Sasuke, eager for a fight. Assuming Sakura wouldn't even try to leave, he took after Sasuke.

Of course, the Sound ninja assumed correctly; Sakura wasn't going anywhere. She was too tired, and it might take a lot of chakra to get all the way back down and then to her house. Plus, Sasuke might be a disturbance if he was around when he went to go drag Sakura off.

Sakura tried to keep up, but the two of them disappeared around the other side of the tree where she couldn't see. But soon enough, they came back around so that they stood right in front of Sakura, just an arm's-length away. By the looks of it, Sasuke was loosing.

Suddenly, he appeared behind the Sound-nin and grabbed him around the middle. In on of his hands he held a kunai. With the weapon which glistened in the moonlight, he pierced the man's stomach.

"You said Kiyoshi was weak, eh? Well, you're weaker," Sasuke whispered in his ear before releasing him; the man's face was frozen in a shell-shocked way as he fell face forward off a tree tumbling down, down, down through the air.

Sasuke, panting heavily, turned towards the horror-struck Sakura. Thrusting his hands deep into his white short's pockets, he took the few steps towards her; Sakura tried to press herself even more against the tree.

It didn't work.

Sasuke knelt down in front of her; his face was, as usual, blank, but for the obvious tiredness that showed all over.

"Sakura..." he began slowly, his voice low.

Sakura's features sharpened as she glared at him. "What?" she snapped. She refused to show any form of gratitude towards him--even if he **had** saved her from them, he had still been one of them. "I don't want to talk to you."

"Fine," Sasuke said sharply, standing. Turning on his heels, he carefully walked across the branch and was about to jump when Sakura shot to her feet.

"Wait!" she exclaimed. "What were you going to say?"

Sasuke smirked. "Hn." He walked back towards her, hands still deep in his pockets. "I was **going** to explain what happened to you more thoroughly. But I can't exactly do that if you don't want to talk to me."

Sakura struggled with an answer. After a while, curiosity won over anger and she sat back down. "What?"

Sasuke settled down on the branch across from her, legs crossed. "I was assigned to this mission without knowing what it was. All anyone told me was that I was supposed to go to Konoha--and I was only informed of that once we leaved. I wouldn't have left until I had gotten more information, but they dragged me off."

Sasuke looked up, staring through the gaps in the large canopy of leaves. The sun was slowly rising in the sky, lighting the village, waking the people of Konohagakure.

"When I saw you a week ago, and you screamed at me, those two--Kiyoshi and the masked one--were watching. Turns out they even followed you home to figure out where they lived. But I didn't know that. I had gone back to my old apartment after I saw you. I only learned what the mission was the day before it was scheduled to happen--yesterday," Sasuke scowled; he hated being ignorant.

Sakura hugged her legs to her chest as she intently listening to the story of her old teammate. It seemed like he was keeping things out, like there was more that happened, important things, that occurred before where he began to tell. Like opening a book in its center and starting to read.

"I snuck into your house before the two _bakas_ were even awake and got you out of there. But they soon caught up. " Sasuke hesitated before adding, "If I had known what the mission was, I wouldn't have gone with them. I'd have come early and warned you."

Sakura nodded, but her eyes were narrowed in a suspicious way. "How am I supposed to believe you?"

Sasuke leaned in close, his lips gently crashing against Sakura's. When he pulled back, a smirk was playing on his lips.

"Is that proof enough?" he asked.

Numbly, Sakura nodded her head; all the anger which had been left quickly subsided. Sasuke's smirk grew in satisfaction. But as he was smirking, his hand--with a mind of its own--reached down and grabbed one of Sakura's, which lay limp at her side. His fingers laced between hers. The touch of his skin instantly warmed Sakura's cold hands.

Sakura gave his hand a tight squeeze, her eyes never leaving his face. She was afraid that if she looked away, even for just a second, he'd disappear and she'd wake up from her fantasy.

Slowly, Sasuke raised his other hand and gently grabbed Sakura's chin; his hand was shaking, and he didn't seem to know what he was doing, or why he was doing it. Maybe he didn't even know that he _was_ doing it, but he was. Closing his eyes, he tilted his head and leaned close to Sakura. Her eyes remained open, wide and shocked as Sasuke kissed her for the second time.

So the first time hadn't been some sort of fluke?

He had meant it?!

Sasuke pulled away from Sakura slowly and immediately stood. Sakura's hand reached out for him as his fingers slipped out of her grasp. He frowned ever so slightly and looked up at the sky with his striking dark eyes.

And then he turned on his heels and began to walk away, stuffing the hands that had warmed Sakura's own in his pockets. He was reached the end of the branch when he stopped abruptly, looking towards the brown of the bark causing his rooster-do hair to stand at a ridiculous height.

"...I'll stay in Konoha," he murmured. "And I won't regret it." It was more like he was talking to the tree than to Sakura, but she knew this not to be true. She also knew exactly what he was talking about.

The first time he left, to go to Orochimaru. She had met him on the streets and...

Sakura shook her head to stop thinking about it. That was no longer important. What WAS important though was that he was back for good, and that he was staying for her. Or that was how she took it, anyway, since he had responded to what she had said those years ago.

Then Sasuke was gone, before Sakura had even finished blinking. She stared at the empty air for a minute before the smallest smile flickered onto her face.

_I guess I was wrong again. He definitely can feel..._ Sakura thought to herself; that one thought drifted for a moment before another pushed it out of the way. _Oh! Ino will be **so** jealous!!_

Grinning to herself, Sakura jumped to her feet and made her way towards the forest floor. Almost at the bottom, she heard a voice from behind her.

"And oh yeah. Sakura? You're _Still_ annoying."

Sakura didn't even bother to turn her head, knowing that he wouldn't be there. Instead, she allowed herself a smirk.

"Some things never change..." she whispered, briefly touching her lips with her index and middle fingers. And then she headed home through the early morning darkness.

* * *

**a/n and I have no idea when this story was supposed to take place. it just...did. okay? so anyway! any comments? how was it, eh?. I know there were typos...yeah. but, how was it besides that? I plan on writing many more one shots. or, a handful more anyway.**


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